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METRO VANCOUVER - Though the front came from the subtropics and may boost the temperature into double digits, the heavy rains battering Metro Vancouver Thursday night felt anything but Hawaiian at 6 C.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning Thursday night predicting up to 40 millimetres of rain across Metro Vancouver, with the highest amounts expected near the North Shore.

The warm front of moist sub-tropical air coming west from the Pacific may boost the temperature into double digits this weekend, causing other problems for ski resorts.

Cypress Mountain said on its website that the ski hill was being closed in anticipation of the worst rain storm of the season.

“It’s going to just be a miserable experience. We’re closed tonight and it’s supposed to last tomorrow as well, so we’ll see how we’re doing then.”

Koeman said the Cypress closure was just precautionary, noting that closing the ski hills due to rainfall is not uncommon for most winters. Thursday’s closure was the first for this year.

On the North Shore, Grouse Mountain was remaining open to skiers despite the rain.

“It was bucketing with snow earlier,” spokeswoman Sarah Lusk said on Thursday. “We’ve had so much snow in the past week it’s not a problem.”

Mount Seymour also remained open, but staff there said they would reassess in the morning.

Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 11 degrees on the North Shore, which Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones said is not great news for skiers.

The freezing level was expected to reach 1,800 metres by Friday evening. By Saturday, it could creep up to 2,000 metres.The North Shore ski areas reach about 1,400 metres in height.

“On Thursday, Friday, the freezing level will rock up and some very heavy rain will come to the North Shore,” he said.

“It is going to rain to the top on all the hills. It will get ugly.”

The North Shore ski hills may be able to weather the warming trend for a while, though.

For the past week, local ski hills have had snowfalls of 100 to 150 cm. Seymour reported 175 cm of snow during that period.

Meanwhile, Environment Canada said the strong Pacific frontal system was expected to mean heavy rains Friday across West Vancouver Island, Howe Sound, and the Sunshine Coast. West Vancouver Island will be hardest hit, with up to 150 mm of rain expected by Saturday morning.

With a file from Mike Hager

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